Announcing a new vision for King David High School
Announcing a New Vision for King David! As a valued member of the King David community, we wanted you to be among the first to know that we are working towards a long-term vision that will confirm our place at the heart of Vancouver’s Jewish community.
As you are aware, we are bursting at the seams in our current home. Thanks to our teachers, staff, students, donors and community partners, we are delivering first-class programming to a record 237 students and are in dire need of more space for our students to learn and thrive.
A couple of years ago, we shared plans we had made for an expanded King David High School on our existing site. Well, as the saying goes, “People plan and God laughs.” Indeed, we are writing to you today to let you know about a new and improved future that awaits our school.
A Brand New Facility on the JCC Site
With incredible support from the Diamond Family Foundation, King David has joined the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver and the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver to secure its place as a permanent part the new JCC Vancouver campus.
As a partner in this ambitious development, King David will secure a brand new facility in Phase Two of construction in the upcoming JCC redevelopment. Phase One of the JCC rebuild will be completed on the current JCC parking lot site. Phase Two will be built on the site where the JCC currently sits.
Our new home will be more than a third bigger than our current building, and a full 20 percent bigger than our previously announced expansion. We will have ample space to provide innovative academic programming options that will secure our place as a leading-edge high school. In addition, with a playing field and all-day access to a full-size gymnasium, we will be able to fulfil our dream of providing first-class athletics and extra-curricular programming.
King David Board of Directors co-President Neville Israel says, “The Board could not be more excited about our community partnership. There is a lot of work to do and this is an enormous undertaking, but the opportunity to secure King David’s long-term enrollment and programming needs with a much bigger modern school with better athletic facilities made this an opportunity we had to take.”
On its new JCC site, King David will be part of a Jewish community hub that will include various Jewish communal agencies. We are extremely excited to co-lead this project in partnership with the JCC and Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver. Acknowledging that the new building is likely 10 years away from completion, Board co-President Jackie Cristall explained, “We didn’t come to this decision lightly. It was hard for us to let go of our original expansion plan, but the at the end of the day the Diamond family has made the best of both worlds possible, as we will be able to build a brand new school and address most of our space needs in the short term.”
New Learning Pods on the Current Site
With King David’s new facility on the horizon, the previously planned extensive addition on the existing site would be excessive. However, we know that in order to continue providing the outstanding learning environment that has made us so successful, we need more space now. The Gordon Diamond Family recognizes this immediate need and has offered to fund the perfect interim solution — an extra 3500 square feet of space in brand new, bright and airy, custom-built learning pods designed to complement our existing building. These new spaces will be built beside the outdoor court on the east side of the school, and will include four classrooms, general workspace, a PE Office and PE changing rooms, washrooms and common areas. In addition, we will be making minor interior changes to modernize our existing facility, similar in scope to the changes we made when we transformed the library into our state-of-the-art learning lab.
Our short-term solution will alleviate most of our pressing space issues, and will allow us to:
Maintain our small class sizes
Meet growing demands for enrollment
Offer additional courses, like: Coding and Web Design, Filmmaking, Leadership, Philosophy, Indigenous and Cultural Studies and Comparative Religions, as well as allowing for a wider array of options in our Judaic Studies programming
Provide teachers with more shared work and office spaces for enhanced collaboration
We are already working with our architects, Acton Ostry, on the new learning pod expansion and renovation changes and expect these to open to students with two years. Together, our short and long-term expansion plans will allow us to further enhance our educational opportunities while still maintaining small class sizes and meeting growing demand, so that no student will be turned away due to lack of space.
The Diamond Family – Our Biggest Champion
We are incredibly grateful to Gordon Diamond Family. Their foundation owns the land where our current building sits, and through this foundation they donate back the rental fees for the school every year in addition to providing funding for special Judaic programming. It is their vision and commitment that has enabled us to become part of the JCC project. The Diamond Family’s financial support of King David’s long- and short-term expansion plans will cement our place in Vancouver’s Jewish future.
The Diamond Family has asked all of us to join them in this initiative by filling the new and improved King David High School with our children and grandchildren, and by providing the furnishings, tools and equipment required to ensure King David remains a first-rate place for academic and Judaic learning, fine arts, sports and extracurricular experiences. We are so very appreciative of the support of all members of our extended family and we thank you in advance as we work with you to realize this incredible opportunity.